Mean what you say? Are you sure? Why is every new business contact in the States EXCITED by the prospect of working with me, do they really feel my business idea is AWESOME and are they really TRULY IMPRESSED by my website? And why do they always say it’s LIKE a good idea, and I’M LIKE instead of ‘I said’? You Yanks puzzle me endlessly…

We Americans can’t get through a single sentence anymore without using the work LIKE at least 10 times in an eleven word sentence! We no more mean what we say than the things posted above. After just a month in England I found that the words may be different but the overall thinking and meaning were all the same, it’s just so much fun to listen over there than here!

I love this table. I first saw it (or something very much like it) at a lecture on working in international teams. The lecturer claimed that it was developed to help communication / integration of the Dutch and British leadership team of an large Anglo-Dutch multinational. Don’t know if its true, however a great story.

[…] just to be polite or “that’s very interesting” when they really mean the opposite (read “What British People Say. What They Really Mean. What Other People Understand.” for a comprehensive list of archaic “polite society” comments). And incredibly, people still […]

That lot’s bad enough, but come to Northern Ireland and you might have even greater difficulty!
“You bum’s out the window” – you’re being silly
“It’s straight fornenst you” – it’s right in front of you
“How’s about you” – how are you – and the list goes on

It’s a cultural thing. Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad. Here’s a typical English thing after meeting someone……….”You know what? You should definitely come round my house to have a drink and a chat sometime, seriously you more than welcome.”……………………..I am English and I know they don’t mean it.

Very droll and pretty inaccurate but wonderfully funny. Sort of a Wodehouse take on how we Brits are. If Karen wants to meet people who say what they think then go up North UK. A spade is a spade up there. And female dogs are bitches.

Except for dinner, those mean the same for Americans / American English. We won’t often say “quite good” or “with the greatest respect”, but we’d recognize them and it wouldn’t be too weird to use them. Probably some in the Northeast would use that kind of air-kiss dinner invitation, but for most, if you invite someone to dinner, you better be ready to be accepted.

Agree with many of the other comments. Having worked with people of different nationalities, in my experience most people just try to be pleasant and unoffensive, regardless of their social standing. This idea that Northern Brits call a spade a spade is just a way of saying, I’ll say what I think regardless of how it makes others feel. This might work in social situations but not sure it would be well regarded in an International business context. Trying to understand other people’s cultural differences goes a long way to oil the wheels

You are so right. I live in the southern USA – your analogy is spot on.

I was just thinking that as I was reading this, that southerners of the US are much like this as well – versus the aggressive, more blunt behaviors of the northern (just acknowledging stereotypes…of course there are exceptions) people who are considered “rude.”

We all smile at everyone and ask how they are (which I personal like…because most are genuinely well-intended people) however, many feel like it’s fake.

I grew up in NW Ohio and have also lived in the DC area, and now SF Bay Area / Silicon Valley in California. I like to be direct, clear, concise but also (because I’m an engineer) as verbose as needed to be precise. I like some nuance and uncertainty for entertainment, but in business and other goal-oriented cases, I like to be explicit, clear, and clean. We use flowery speech or borrow from other dialects (or I should say dialects) for fun or color. Other than a few word choices, I grew up in the “flat English neutral” zone. Boring but functional and efficient.

I find the british cultural fascinating. I wish I had been brought up there, but hopefully in the near future I will have the chance to visit, and maybe even live there for a while to understand and learn the ways of british customs.

In Scotland we say ‘will I?’ Which isn’t asking should I do something it’s saying I’m going to do ……. Like will I make some tea? Not a question just a statement, gets me into all sorts of bother in England

Thé british are polite, but what I most like is britsh humor, which Am incorporated in, from my long stay in London, where I lived n’ worked, all sorts of work, à chef, bouncer, hôtel manager,..théy are tolérant, respect other peoples culture, that I don’t think you’ll find any where in Thé world except India, indian people are Nice n peacefull. But thé of some Having thé nostalgia of british empire I don’t agréé with totally, it has nothing To do with british people, completly différent from there royalty class…

About this blog

Looking across the landscape of contemporary culture - at the arts, science, religion, politics, philosophy; sorting through the jumble; seeing what stands out, what unsettles, what intrigues, what connects, what sheds light. Father Stephen Wang is a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Westminster, London. He is currently Senior University Chaplain, based at Newman House Catholic Chaplaincy. [Banner photo with kind permission of Matthew Powell]

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